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Paul Silas (Bobcats HC) is pissed...

Whew. Paul Silas is pissed. I mean he’s that “You lied to me and crashed the car and your 4 year old sister was in the back seat,” parent-style pissed. Disappointment coupled with incredulity and anger at the level of disappointment. The Indiana Pacers played a more physical style of ball that the Bobcats weren’t ready for and weren’t used to at Indianapolis tonight. The first half was good. I mean, it was as good a first half as you’ll see from a team who ends up losing by 22 points. The Charlotte Bobcats came back after halftime and it did not matter. It didn’t matter whatever happened, whatever the Bobcats wanted to do, what the defense was going to be, what lineups were in, it didn’t matter; the Pacers determined the outcome of the game.

The Bobcats, literally and figuritively, got kicked in the nuts tonight. Excuse my vulgarities, pissed and kicked in the nuts all before the jump but these are the facts of the game and the post game presser from Coach Silas. To be up by 6 at the half but to have your score DOUBLED in the second half? That’s getting kicked square in the nuts. Tyrus Thomas was providing perimeter defense on Indy’s Dahntay Jones, when Jones went up for his shot and did that ridiculous Reggie Miller kick while he was in the air, he caught Thomas right in the mommy-daddy buttons.

I can’t even describe the physicality that the Pacers exuded over the Bobcats that they, not only couldn’t answer, they couldn’t avoid and couldn’t oppose in some sort of counterpunch that made any sense. It was like the Roberto Duran fight, the Pacers were Sugar Ray Leonard and the Bobcats were Duran saying “No Mas…”

The game started with an interesting starting line-up change for the Bobcats. With Corey Maggette out, against the Hawks, Paul Silas started Boris Diaw, D.J. White, D.J. Augustin, Gerald Henderson and Derrick Brown (Maggette’s replacement). I think the thought process was likely “Biggest dude in the league in Roy Hibbert, better put Diop out there!” So, take out Derrick Brown, he only had 17 minutes or something last night anyway; insert Tyrus Thomas. Move Boris Diaw to the other forward, leaving D.J. White out of the lineup in his college “home town” and Desagana Diop in at Center. Right? Makes sense. Get Tyrus going early, Diop on Hibbert… It worked, I guess.
Diop is just so out of shape. 17 minutes, 4 points, thankfully no free throw attempts, so he wasn’t so much embarrassed in that way. Byron Mullens played a good bit, but as a back-up against back-ups so he was able to get his points (10), he even got a block and 11 rebounds, which is good to see from a seven-footer. Bismack Biyombo scored 4 points, 4 rebounds and a block. So, let’s see, that’s 18 points between the 3 guys that are considered centers on the Bobcats roster. But Roy Hibbert had 20…so there’s that.

The most pissed I saw out of Paul Silas was when someone asked him some extensive, barely audible on the TV feed, question about Boris Diaw. Coach Silas just said “I’m done talking about him.” Wow. 2 points for Boris, in his “more natural” position. He had two of everything, assists, rebounds, blocks, but 3 turnovers and 6 fouls, which of course, the 6th of which came with ample time left in the game. Open jumpers aren’t his thing. I don’t get it, maybe Larry Brown scarred him but you know D’Antoni in Phoenix and Paul Silas are just about the most apt coaches at green-lighting shots, so it’s on Boris. Maybe we should check the French population in Indianapolis?

The game was in their hands. It’s almost as if the Pacers were rope-a-doping the Bobcats, to make for my second boxing simile of the post. They let the Bobcats get their punches in all the first half, but then the second half, they just ended it. Gerald Henderson got a frustration technical. Diaw fouled out with almost 3 minutes left. The Bobcats attempted 10 more field goals than the Pacers but also missed 10 more than the Pacers. 32.6% to 50.6% in the FG% department.

I’d be pissed too, if I expected more, which, if I had been home to see more of the first half, I would have. I was just here for the collapse and to me, it looks like a young team that didn’t care to get into all that “hard” playing. ”We’re little guys, we’re finesse players, all this beating and banging is beneath us somehow.” If that’s the way these guys want to play, especially when faced with such physicality out of an opposing team, they better do a lot of other things, like outside shooting or cuts and drawing fouls or taking charges, really, really well.

Teams are going to start coming more prepared to our games, but I'm enjoying these kinds of reads over the weekend. The very definition of smash mouth.

Re: Paul Silas (Bobcats HC) is pissed...

Is it just me, or did Diaw eat a lot of cheeseburgers during the lockout?

"Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel

"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "
Want your own "Just Say No to Kamen" from @mkroeger pic? http://twitpic.com/a3hmca

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Re: Paul Silas (Bobcats HC) is pissed...

I like this trend. Doc Rivers seemed just exasperated and at a loss after we beat the Celtics.

Just gotta bring it when we play the big boys, too. Beating Charlotte is great, and Boston is a good quality win, but I really want to read Spoelstra, Carlisle, VanGundy, D'Antoni, and Thibodeau saying things like this.

Re: Paul Silas (Bobcats HC) is pissed...

Peck and myself are having a non-ending contest to see who loves Dale Davis more. As of right now, I'd say we're tied.

Anyway, back on topic. I'm loving the post-game reactions from these coaches lately. They just seem frustrated and in awe at the same time by how tough we are as a team.

I also love how Frank has handled the season so far. Last year in his post game interviews he was smiling and really acting more like a fan than a coach (Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough! NOBODY!). Which I loved, don't get me wrong. It was quite refreshing to see someone as excited about the ball club as us fans! But this year, he puts out a much more serious vibe in his interviews. Gives off that "Yes, we're good. But it's early, and we know we can be a whole lot better." It's awesome. He's evolving as a coach just as the guys are evolving as players. And it really seems like he's getting everyone to buy in. From the players, to the coaches, these guys are all focused on one goal.

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Re: Paul Silas (Bobcats HC) is pissed...

I'm also very encouraged by the reactions of the coaches in these last two games. I think I'm even more encouraged that they come after a 35 point loss to Miami in which we let the refs get in our head and become lackadaisical. We've responded by playing some of our most intense basketball (the first 2 quarters of the Charlotte game excluded) of the season.

Re: Paul Silas (Bobcats HC) is pissed...

For those of you that were not around in the 90's Dale Davis is the original founding member of the smash mouth team.

"He wanted to get to that money time. Time when the hardware was on the table. That's when Roger was going to show up. So all we needed to do was stay close"Darnell Hillman (Speaking of former teammate Roger Brown)

Re: Paul Silas (Bobcats HC) is pissed...

I think that A** Kicking from Miami could have been a minor blessing in disguise. OBVIOUSLY nobody wants to get their butts whipped like that, but I think it reminded this still fairly young team that in order for us to win consistently we need to play "smashmouth" These past 2 games we have been the aggressors MUCH MORE than our opposition. I'm thinking that winning ugly is going to be our identity moving forward. And I am okay w/ that

Re: Paul Silas (Bobcats HC) is pissed...

Yea, I'd be pissed to if I was forced into giving heavy minutes to Boris Diaw and Byren Mullins.

Good job Michael Jordan

Your wrong about Mullens. Apparently, you aren't up to speed on the way Mullens has been playing for the Bobcats. This was mentioned in another thread prior to the game about how Silas has had success in developing the Bobcats young players(Augustin, Henderson, Mullens, DJ White).

Diaw looked like an Allstar Center the game b4 when the Bobcats beat the Knicks. It was a really good game to have watched.

Re: Paul Silas (Bobcats HC) is pissed...

My God isn't there a thread somewhere where we can talk about stretching the floor, I mean I don't know how much I can take of all this PACERS ARE PHYSICAL TEAM stuff from other teams.

Seriously I can't even get up a good angst about our team right now to even be critical of about anybody and you know that is killing me.

We haven't seen this type of basketball in Indiana in over a decade.

Just goes to show how a system that highlites stretch 4's, emphasizing shooting 3's, and playing helter skelter run n gun BB with little "D" doesn't cut it. 3 1/2 years of watching JimmyBall was absolutely frightfully painful.